The History of the Apron=December 1722=Goermans/Taskin

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she didn't have many and it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven, shooed flies away from sleeping babies and fanning it provided a bit of breeze on a hot summer day.It was wonderful for drying children's tears, runny noses and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms or around the shoulders of the nearest child.Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow bent over the hot wood stove, dried work worn hands and more than a few tears.Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. Crumbs were brushed from the dining table onto that apron.From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples, pears and nuts that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes. Send this to those who will remember Grandma's aprons and to those who can't even imagine today's women wearing one! REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her apple pies on the cabinet to cool after she baked them.Her granddaughters set theirs on the cabinet to thaw before they bake them.

Scientists would go crazy now trying to figure out exactly how many and what kind of germs were on that apron.